President John Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has announced Ghana’s intention to introduce a motion at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to demand reparations for Africa, declaring that the continent can no longer remain silent about the historical injustices of slavery and colonisation.
Addressing world leaders at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York yesterday, President Mahama said it was time to confront the legacies of slavery and colonial exploitation that stripped Africa of its people, natural resources, and dignity.
“The slave trade must be recognised as the greatest crime against humanity,” he declared and added, “As the African champion on reparations, Ghana intends to introduce a motion in this august body to that effect. More than 12 and a half million Africans were forcibly taken against their will and transported to create wealth for powerful Western nations.”
President Mahama argued that the demand for reparations was not only about justice for the past but also about acknowledging the present inequities that continue to disadvantage the Global South.
He recalled that while former slave owners received compensation after abolition, the enslaved themselves, and their descendants, received nothing.
“We must demand reparations for the enslavement of our people and the colonisation of our land that resulted in the theft of our natural resources, as well as the looting of artifacts and cultural heritage items that have yet to be returned,” he said.
The President also spoke passionately about migration, climate change, and the need to resist growing xenophobia and racism across the world.
He condemned the way migrants are often portrayed in negative terms by leaders in the West, despite the fact that many are forced to flee due to climate-related disasters caused by emissions from developed nations.
“The Global North emits 75 percent more greenhouse gases than the Global South,” President Mahama noted, asserting, “Yet it is the Global South that suffers the most severe effects, lacking the resources to address them effectively.”
To underline the human face of migration, he cited the words of Somali-British poet Warsan Shire, who wrote in her celebrated poem Home: “No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”
He highlighted the achievements of migrants of African origin who have distinguished themselves across the world, including Ghanaian-American judge Mame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, Slovenia’s first black mayor Peter Bossman, Ghanaian-Norwegian designer T-Michael, and the late Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
“These are people who have brought great distinction to the countries they chose to call home. They are not invaders, and they are not criminals,” President Mahama stated.
He urged the global community not to “normalise cruelty, hatred, xenophobia, and racism,” but rather to acknowledge the shared humanity of all peoples while addressing historical injustices that have left Africa at a disadvantage for centuries.
“Let us tell all the truth. We recognise the value of our land and the value of our lives. For too long, others recognised it only for their gain. Now is the time to demand justice,” President Mahama insisted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu